SIN

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Chapter 2

Sin

Sin, it is perhaps the deadliest word that we have or ever will know, because not

only can sin kill the body, but it can kill the soul as well.

Sin was brought into this world when Eve ate an apple from the tree of

knowledge of good and evil (gen. 3:6). Satan came to Eve in the form of a snake

and tempted her to eat an apple from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. At first eve

was reluctant because God had told her and Adam "You are free to eat from

any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)

However, Satan lied to Eve and said "You will not surely die; God knows that

the day you eat the fruit of knowledge your eyes will be opened and you will

become as God's yourself, knowing the difference between good and evil."

(Genesis 3:4-5)

So Eve took the apple and ate from it and then she took it to Adam and he

partook of it also. As soon as they ate the apple they knew the difference between

good and evil, and since then we have all known in our hearts the difference

between good and evil.

In Romans 1:18-20 the bible says "But God shows his anger from heaven

against all sinful, evil men who push away the truth from them. For the

truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge

in their hearts. Since earliest times man has seen the earth, sky, and all

that God made and they have known of his existence and great eternal

power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God on

judgment day."

So by this, we know that God put the truth in our hearts and therefore we will

have no excuse for our sins on judgment day because we have known the

difference between right and wrong from the beginning.

Even if you try telling God "I never read the bible my Lord, therefore I was blind."

he will answer "You have known the truth from the beginning, it was in your heart!"

Not to mention that the bible was always in your reach, you were just too much of

a sluggard to study it and seek it's wisdom.

In Psalms 40:8 the bible says "I delight to do your will O'God, your law is

within my heart." and in Hebrews 8:10 God himself said "I will put my laws in

their mind, and write them in their hearts".

We are very fortunate these days because the bible has been simplified for

those who do not understand it and its meaning, there are New International

Versions (N.I.V) which are in modern day language, and there are books such as

this and the Fig Tree which explain things in ways that make it easy for others to

understand.

Now we know that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. Imagine that! They

had everlasting life in paradise, but they chose to live in sin instead. So, should

we blame Adam and Eve for our misfortunes and our suffering? Of course not!

They may be partly to blame but if you were in the garden of Eden today could

you guarantee that you would not eat the apple?

Every time you sin you partake of the same apple! when you lie, steal, cheat,

fornicate, curse others, or take part in any other sin you are taking a bite out of that

very same apple.

In Romans 2:1 the bible says "well," you may be saying, "what terrible

people you have been talking about!," but wait a minute! you are just as

bad. When you say that they are wicked and should be punished you are

talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things."

So be careful when you judge others like Adam and Eve, or anyone else for that

matter, because you are just as bad. Also in Matthew 7:12 our Lord Jesus Christ

himself said "Do not judge others or you will be judged. For God will judge

you in the same way that you judge others!"

Scary isn't it? Have you judged someone lately? how did you judge them?

what measure did you use? for that my friend will be the same measure used on

you.

Have you called someone stupid lately? or called them an idiot or a fool? In

Matthew 5:22 Jesus said "But now I tell you that whoever is angry with his

brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment, and whoever calls

his brother an idiot shall be in danger of the council; but whoever shall say

"you fool!" shall be in danger of hell fire."

I just prayed to the Lord as I was writing this because I remembered as I was

growing up one of my brothers was sort of a slow learner and my other brother, my

sister and I used to call him stupid, or retarded, or an idiot! Lord forgive me.

Not only am I in danger of hell fire for doing such, but now I realize the hurt and

pain that I must have caused my brother as a child. Right this second my heart is

heavy, I ask God to forgive me for my ignorance and I shall ask my brother to

forgive me as well.

Can you imagine the pain and hurt that he must have felt deep inside when we

called him these names? especially when we had company at the house or

around other kids in school. My God, please forgive me!

You know that sometimes we slow a persons progress down by calling them

such names because we plant seeds of negativity in their minds and they begin to

believe that they are stupid and they give up and quit trying to learn.

My brother was hit by a car when he was about seven years old and witnesses

said that he flew up almost as high as the telephone poles, then he landed on top

of the hood of the car and his head hit the hood ornament, putting a hole in the

back of his head.

We prayed for him for days not knowing whether or not he was going to live,

then years later I was calling him stupid, retarded, and names of the sort when he

couldn't even help it, the accident made him that way. Every time he would make

one of us mad at him, that was our weapon of choice.

I pray that I never stoop that low again, I pray that I learn to tame my tongue and

that I never cause anyone such pain ever again. Such foolishness can rip a

person apart and ruin there life, yet so many of us do this day after day to fellow

workers, other children in school, our neighbors, or our own family members. The

first step is to acknowledge our wrong doings and try to set them straight.

Children in school tend to be just as cruel to fellow school mates. I have seen

talk shows where innocent children break out in tears as they tell the story of how

these other children beat up on them, or verbally abuse them. If your children are

doing this to other children in school and you know about it and you do not set

them straight, then I feel sorry for you and your children on judgment day.

I have asked my Lord and my brother to forgive me since I wrote that

paragraph above, and I have been forgiven, I pray that by reading this others will

recognize their faults and correct them as well. Have you called anyone stupid

lately? or a fool? or mocked them and made fun of them? ask God to forgive you,

then ask that person as well so that there is no case against you on judgment day.

So again I say beware of such snares, do not curse others and do not judge

unless you want to be judged, not only by others but by God himself. Do not

criticize and you won't be criticized, don't ridicule and you wont be ridiculed, for

others will treat you as you treat them. Keep in mind that people mirror what you

put out.

In Matthew 7:3 Jesus said "Why worry about a speck in your brothers eye

when you have a board in your own? Hypocrite! first get rid of the board in

your own eye, and then you will be able to see to help your brother."

Keep in mind that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, so when he talked

about sinning against your brother he did not mean your intermediate family, but

he meant everyone in the world.

By obeying God's laws we are guaranteed a place in heaven where we will

spend eternity, there will be no more sickness and disease, no more hunger or

pain and suffering, no more worries or fears, we will live for eternity in a paradise

that no man can imagine.

However, accepting God and obeying his commandments does even more than

that for us, it gives us a better life here on earth. In John 10:10 Jesus said "I

came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly" so God wants

us to have all the best, and to live a good life, and by obeying his commandments

life begins to change for us, we become happier, we find joy, peace, and love

unlike we have ever known before.

Why? first of all, because when we obey his laws life works in perfect harmony

with the world. We learn to be nicer to others and they in turn begin to be nicer to

us. We begin to love and forgive others and likewise they, by seeing our good

example, begin to love and forgive us as well. Not only do they learn to be like us

and love and forgive us, but they learn to love and forgive others as well. It's like a

pyramid affect.

In Romans 5:19 the bible says "For as by one man's disobedience (Adam)

many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made

righteous" This is telling us that Adam brought sin into the world, but one

righteous man saves many. Sure, it is more than likely referring to Jesus, whom

was that righteous man, but it can also be referring to a righteous man that lets his

light shine. He can also save many through his good conduct, many will change

their ways and want to live a good life like that person.

Eve was the first to eat from the apple and let Satan deceive her, so God said to

her "Because you have done this, I will greatly increase your pains in child

birth, with pain you will give birth to children, your desire will be for your

husband and he will rule over you!" (Gen. 3:16)

And he said to Adam "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the

tree in which I commanded you not to eat of, cursed is the ground because

of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will

produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the

ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will

return."

So Adam and Eve were told that if they ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge

they would surely die. They did not drop dead right there and then because God

was talking about a spiritual death, not that of the flesh.

You see, Adam and Eve could have lived for eternity, but since they ate the

apple, they were destined to die with the flesh rather than live forever. this is why

God said "The man now has become as one of us, knowing good and evil.

He must not be allowed to reach his hand out and take also from the tree of

life and eat, and live forever" (Genesis 3:22)

Your probably wondering "What chance do I have now that Adam and Eve

brought sin and death into the world, I mean, after all, I can't help what they did!"

That's right, you can't help what they did, however, you may have done the very

same thing, we all sin.

Can we die a spiritual death as well? Yes we can!

In Ezekial 18:4 God says "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the

father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die!"

And in Romans 6:23 the bible says "For the wages of sin is death", and in

James 1:15 the bible says "Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin:

and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death."

What does a spiritual death mean to us, and what sins cause a spiritual

death?

A spiritual death means that when our body dies (flesh) we will not go to heaven to

be with our creator, instead we are dead to him and therefore will be cast into the

lake of fire (hell) with Satan and be tormented for ever and ever.

In the book of Revelation 20:10-15 the bible says "And the devil that deceived

them was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false

prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before God; and the books

were opened, including the book of life. And the dead were judged

according to the things that were written in the books, each according to

his works.

And death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second

death

and if anyones name was not found recorded in the book of life, he was

thrown into the lake of fire."

Mercy! Can you imagine being cast into a lake of fire and burning for ever and

ever? Think of it like this... have you ever burned yourself really bad? if so,

imagine that pain ten thousand times worse and never-ending. Scary, isn't it?

The cause of spiritual death is sin itself. The bible says in Romans 6:23 that

"The wages of sin is death." So all sin is deadly. Also, in Ephesians 2:1 the

bible says "And you he has made alive, who were dead in your trespasses

and sin."

God realized over the years that some people did deserve everlasting life,

because people like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and others found favor in his eyes.

So God gave a man named Moses his laws and said that whoever lived by

these laws and obeyed them would have everlasting life with him in paradise.

However, these laws were too strict, and no man alive is without sin, and "The

wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23) . We were headed for disaster from the

beginning, because only a few men like Moses were close to being perfect,

because "All men sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 6:23)

Since man was so imperfect, and most of the laws of the old testament had a

penalty of death, God decided to make a way for us to have eternal life.

God came down to the earth in the flesh, as the son of God, Jesus, so that we

could have a relationship with him through Christ Jesus, and be forgiven our sins,

no matter how great they were.

In the ways of the old testament, to be forgiven for a sin, a meat offering had to

be made to God, forgiveness of sins was always through the BLOOD of a sacrifice

which was clean, unblemished, such as an unspotted lamb.

Rather than continue with the ways of the old testament, Jesus Christ our Lord

gave himself as a permanent sacrifice so that we all could be saved through him,

for he was without sin, unblemished, the final lamb of sacrifice.

So, how do we get saved? Are we automatically forgiven for a sin the second

we commit it? Of course not! The bible says that we must "confess and

forsake" a sin before it is forgiven.

Confess means to admit that we have done wrong and we should pray to the Lord

and confess our sins, and then ask for forgiveness, but we still must forsake that

sin in order to be forgiven.

What does forsake mean? It means to give up; completely quit doing that thing

which is a sin. Perhaps you have sat in a court room at some time or another and

heard the judge say, "I am giving you three years probation, and if you make it

through the entire three years without committing this same offense again, I will

wipe it off of your record as if it never happened.

However, if in that three years you commit this same offense again, the first will

still count against you, and that offense will be your second charge-I will still hold

you responsible for the first offense."

Well, that is basically how it works with our Lord as well. We must completely

give up that sin or it is unforgiven, after all, if you were truly sorry, you would not

go out and do that same thing again.

So my friend, if you find yourself praying for forgiveness again and again for the

same sin, then you are not yet forgiven, so you need to change your prayer and

start asking for deliverance.

Deliverance means to ask the Lord to deliver you from that sin, completely take it

out of your life. He can do that in several different ways. For instance, he can put

conviction in your heart so that every time you commit that sin you will feel guilty,

or he can deliver you from the temptation that is causing that sin, or whatever the

case may be.

What is sin? Sin can be defined in many different ways. Sin is basically doing

what we want rather than what God wants us to do. Sin is breaking the laws of the

bible as well as that of our government.

Sin evolves in many different ways; it can be from an act of anger which causes

us to curse at someone or hit them, even our own spouse or children. It can

evolve from lust which leads to fornication, adultery and many other types of sex

sins.

(You can read about the many different types of sex sins in the Old Testament in

Exodus chapter 21 to 24, Leviticus chapters 15 & 18, Deuteronomy

22:13-30,23:21-23 as well as in the New Testament which tells us time and time

again that Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of heaven Gal 5:21).

Sin also evolves from jealousy and envy, causing us to mistreat people for no

reason at all. We think in our minds that they are better than us so we try to cut

them down with a two-edged sword (our tongues), when in fact we are all the

same in the eyes of God.

If you want to be just like somebody that you know then you are already making

a big mistake, because sooner or later that person is bound to make a mistake

and fall, causing us to lose faith ourselves and lose sight of our goals. In Romans

3:9 the bible says "For all men sin and fall short of the glory of God".

If you must model your life after someone, then turn your desires to be like Jesus

Christ himself whom was without sin (II Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, I John 3:5).

Sin also evolves dramatically from drinking and doing drugs because we lose

our foothold and give in to Satan and his evil desires, we are no longer in

complete control of our minds.

When we drink and/or do drugs we constantly find ourselves doing things that

we ordinarily would not do. We begin to lie, steal, cheat, fight and argue, be late

for work or call in sick. We start staying out late and leaving our spouses and/or

children and other family members home alone worried sick about us, frightened

and alone sometimes for days at a time.

Under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, we are under Satans control, that's

why our elders nick-named a bottle of alcohol "Satan in a bottle".

keep in mind that our body is his temple, we are not to do it any harm. In I

Corinthians 6:19 the New testament says "Don't you know that your body is

the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of god, and is

not that of your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify in

your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Also in I Corinthians 3:16-17 the New Testament says "Don't you know that

you yourself are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? If anyone

destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred

and you are that temple."

So now we know what sin is, and how it was brought into this world, now we

need to examine sin up close so that we not only understand it, but know how to

defeat it as well.

In my previous book "The Fig Tree, A parable for life" (A story about the end of

times when Christ comes for his elect) I described sin as Satan himself, living

within our minds.

Satan is that little voice in the back of our mind that says negative things.

For instance, when I want to diet, I mean really want to diet, Satan is that little

voice that says "Oh come on!... one little doughnut isn't going to kill you!"

Or when you are fasting, he is that little voice in your mind that says ""Oh come

on, you have fasted twelve hours, that's enough, besides, that food looks good!"

Or he is that little voice that says "I know that I am suppose to be fasting but that

pizza looks good, and after all, I don't get the opportunity to eat pizza very often!"

Try fasting some time and see if food that you normally do not have starts

popping up everywhere, Satan is determined to break your spirit.

Satan is that voice in your mind when you are at work that says "Oh man, I don't

want to do that! Why doesn't he do it?" or "I will make someone else do it for me!"

Satan is the voice of negativity, and once you begin to understand this, and

separate it from your good conscious that God gave us all, then and only then will

you be able to defeat Satan.

He is even the little voice in your head that says "Aw man, the toilet paper roll is

empty, oh well, I am not going to change it! I will let the next guy do it!" or "hey,

the dishes need to be washed, oh well, I will pretend I did not notice, let someone

else do them!"

Why would Satan put such little thoughts like that in our heads? Because he

knows that God dislikes a lazy person or a sluggard for one reason, and also

because it is simple little things like that, that build up tension in a home, or the

work place and cause distention.

Satan is that voice in our minds that says "Act now!" or "shoot and ask questions

later!"

I remember how I used to love birds when I was a little child, I loved to watch

them fly, or sit on a tree branch and sing their cute little hearts out. Then one day I

asked to borrow my grandmothers BB rifle to shoot tin cans, but before I knew it I

was killing those innocent little birds.

I loved birds, I did not understand why I was killing them. I would shoot them out

of a tree, or off of a telephone wire, or off of a fence, and when they fell to the

ground helplessly flopping around I would feel so guilty that I had to walk up to

them and shoot them in the head to put them out of their misery.

However, before long I was shooting down another bird. Why would I kill

something that I love and admire? I wouldn't, not the real m anyways, but when

that gun was in my hands I became a different person, Satan literally took over.

Satan took control of my mind, yet I let him! The conviction was there, the guilt

too! but I listened to that little deceitful voice in my head that said "Awe, that's all

right, its not a sin to kill a few birds, I mean look at them, there are too many of

them anyways!"

But each time I killed one it bothered me, yet the thrill of the hunt, the

sharpshooting was fun!, to me that is, but what about that poor little bird that was

doing nothing wrong, hurting nobody, just flying happily around and singing

praises to God.

What did he do to deserve what I did to him?

Now that we know how Satan tricks us, and uses our own thoughts to deceive

us, we need to recognize that voice of negativity in our minds, rebuke it, and stand

fast in our ways of righteousness.

We know that Satan was kicked out of heaven along with one third of the Angels

that chose to go with him. Imagine that! If Satan is clever enough to deceive one

third of God's Angels in heaven, then we need to be on our guard twenty four

hours a day, seven days a week.

We need to examine our emotions, our very own thoughts, and evaluate them.

what does that thought in my mind mean? What would it accomplish if I did or

said what was on my mind?

If it would hurt others, or cause dissention among others, then it must truly be

from Satan, but if it is of love and compassion we know beyond a doubt that it is of

our precious Lord.

Always remember that we are fighting Satan, Demons, and principalities. You

are not fighting the brother across from you, you are fighting the enemy, Satan,

because he wants your soul, and in order for him to get it he must break your

spirit, and he does this through your friends, neighbors, or even you own relatives.

And the saddest part of it all is that they do not even realize that they are wrong

and being used by Satan. Satan, the deceiver, has them totally convinced that

they are right.

We will discuss ways to help them realize how Satan is using them later on in

this chapter, but for now lets work on ourselves. Jesus once said "Why worry

about the spot in your neighbors eye when you have a board in your own"

The first thing that we need to remember, and the foremost important, is that we

are all, each and every one of us, are destined to die!, it is unavoidable.

"The world is not my home, I'm just passing through"

Since we are destined to die, we need not worry about our flesh, rather, we

should worry about our souls, for that is the prize.

In wars we fight for freedom, territory, or our rights, or for the rights of others, and

I thank God every day for being in the United States of America. Can you imagine

where we would be now if Hitler, or Stalin would have won the war? Or if Saddam

Hussien was ruler of this world?

If you really sit down and study history and see the way other countries were,

and some still are forced to live, then you will see that God has been with the good

old' U.S. of A. We have more freedom than any other nation, and we, above all

else, truly are blessed.

Now if God will help to protect a righteous nation, though there are alot of evil

people in it too, then you can be sure that he will go even further to protect a

righteous person.

Just as a nation has good and evil people living in it, so also do we have good

and evil living in us.

God knew that Hitler was evil, and if you leave a weed long enough it will choke

out a flower, so God put Hitler and Stalin to the sword, "so to speak", and thus

ended their rein of terror.

We also have "weeds" in our garden. Think of your mind as a beautiful garden,

the Garden of Eden if you will, and now imagine weeds popping up all over the

place. It seems as soon as you chop a weed down, it grows right back! even

bigger at times!

That is because you did not dig deep enough the first time! You did not get to

the "root" of the problem!

Now that you have that in mind, lets examine this parable closer:

The garden is our mind, the weeds are our negative thoughts. The reason those

same negative thoughts keep coming back is because we did not take care of the

problem the first time around, we did not get to the "root" of the problem.

If that sin keeps reoccurring in your life, just like the weed that keeps coming

back, then you need to pray for deliverance. That's right! Think of prayer as your

weed-eater and the bible as a sort of roundup weed killer.

You see, prayer is powerful, and if it is done wholeheartedly, and often enough it

will keep the weeds trimmed (see the PRAYER chapter). Think of the bible as the

weed killer, for it truly is!

Through prayer you can ask God to totally do away with those weeds, and the

bible ensures that they do not come back, if you continue to study it every day.

There is not a question we have, or have ever had that the bible does not

answer. have you ever asked yourself "who am I?" or "Where am I going in life?"

or "What is my purpose in life?"

The answers to all of these questions are in the bible and will be revealed to you

through the Holy Spirit.

Without the bible we are like a surfer without a board, for once the waves come

we will surely sink, in fact, without it, we would never get up.

The words of wisdom in the bible plant our feet firmly in good soil, and if we

water our souls with words of praise and righteousness, we will surly sprout good

fruits.

With the bible we will be standing firm with our feet on solid ground. When we

are lost, or backsliding we lose our foothold, but with the bible, and prayer it

comes back quickly.

When we sit and read our bibles nothing happens, but if we study it, learn it and

apply it to our lives, we begin to experience an overabundance of joy, happiness,

peace of mind as well as many other rewards.

Once you begin to understand the bible, you have a better understanding of

what it is that God wants from you.

As we begin to live by God's word, things just seem to come together for us. we

get along better with our friends and family, neighbors, spouses, and even our

co-workers.

The bible says that "we can know a joy that runs so deep nothing can fully

squelch it" and I am here to tell you this is true. since I came to Christ, I have

found such love, joy, happiness, prosperity and other things that I sing praises to

him all day long, I am like a fountain of joy, watering those around me with holy

water.

Once you accept Christ and let him in your life, things become much clearer,

you begin to see things in a different light. However, before you can receive his

blessings you must live a godly life and do away with hatred, violence, anger,

jealousy, deceit, lies, envy, and all other negative thoughts and or action.

You must completely quit giving in to Satan and his evil ways, only then will you

receive God's blessings, and an overabundance of them, including wisdom, but

we must worship God for who and what he is, not what we want him to be!

God loves us and wants all of the best for us in life. If we have a distorted idea

of what God wants from us, and who he is, then how do we expect to get along

with him? After all, God created man so that man could know him and have a

loving relationship with him, as a friend.

Think of God as your best friend, for he truly wants to be. Now, to relate to that

friend you must first understand him and know what it is that he expects from you.

Remember that God created all of us, that we may know and understand him, so

if you have a deep feeling of emptiness inside you, and you can't seem to get rid

of it, that feeling is the lack of our creator, God Almighty, in our lives. we all have

that emptiness, the problem is that most of us do not simply understand it, or even

know that it is there.

The bible says that we need to follow God "wholeheartedly" (Numbers 32:12),

and to follow all of his laws to the best of our ability.

Some people use the excuse for sinning "Well, I have never really read the

bible, surly I won't be convicted of wrong doing when I did not know the laws!" But

they are wrong, dead wrong!

Again I must warn you that it says in Hebrews 10:16 "I will put my laws in their

hearts, and I will write them in their minds."

In fact, Apostle Paul said "For the laws have been with them since the

beginning, in their minds, so therefore they have no excuse!"

We must also remember not to always follow our hearts alone, but to read our

bibles, for even the bible says not to trust your heart. Satan can use your heart,

and your emotions to deceive you, so you need to know the truth, the word of the

bible.

We can learn to love through the bible and trust in God. we must continually

pray and ask for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. In exodus 33:13 the

bible says "teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find

favor in your eyes."

Wisdom is important, and if we ask for it in prayer continually we will receive it.

In James 1:5 the New testament says "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of

God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given

to him."

James 3:17 says "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then

peaceable, gentle and easy, to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,

without partiality, and without hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is

sown in peace of them that make peace."

So how do we avoid sin? In Exodus 23:2 the bible tells us how to begin

avoiding sin, it says "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong." This in itself is

a very strong statement. If we do things that are wrong just to "fit-in" with the

crowd, then we shall never see paradise in heaven.

We must stand fast in our ways of righteousness, no matter what other people

think. We often tend to follow the crowd instead of having a mind of our own.

For instance, one man may say "stop illegal aliens from coming into our country"

and you may agree with him, but the bible says in Exodus 23:9 "Do not mistreat

aliens, for you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were

aliens in Egypt." Most of these people are only looking for a better way of life,

can you really blame them?

Now here is the heavy one that causes us all to fall, it says in the bible to come

away from the world and it's evil ways. In Luke 12:30-31 the new testament tell us

that God knows what we need, and he will supply it, the rest is worldly, and we

should seek him first, then he will give us what we need, it says "For all of these

things do the nations of the world seek after; and your Father knows that

you have need of these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and all

of these things will be added unto you."

So God knows what we need, and if we seek him first he will gladly give it to us,

but we do not need most of these worldly things, they just hinder our walk with

him.

In Romans 12:2 the New testament says "Do not be conformed to the ways

of this world" and in Colossians 2:8 the New testament says "See to it that

nobody takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which

depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather

than on Christ."

In 1John 2:15 the New testament says "Do not love the world or anything in

the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For

everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and

the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from

the world. The world and it's desires pass away, but the man who does the

will of God lives forever."

In Luke 21:34-35 Jesus said "Watch out! don't let my sudden coming catch

you unawares; don't let me find you living in careless ease, carousing and

drinking, and occupied with the cares of this life, like all of the rest of the

world."

In Matthew 13:22 the Lord Jesus Christ warned that the cares of this world

would choke out the word of righteousness in us, he said "But the cares of this

life and his longing for riches choke out god's word, and he does less and

less for God."

In Psalm 101:3 the bible says "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes" yet

we watch filthy movies with violence, nudity, profanity, we play video games with

blood and guts being splattered or let our children play them, and then we

complain about the rate of teenage violence in the world growing, just as God

predicted it would in the last days.

Then in Matthew 16:26 Jesus said "What will it profit a man if he gain the

whole world and lose his soul" (see the RICHES chapter).

In James 1:27 the bible says to "keep ourselves unspotted by this world."

In James 4:4 the new testament says "You adulterous people, don't you

know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone that

chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

Then in 1 John 5:19 the bible New Testament says "And we know that we are

of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness."

In Leviticus 20:7 God says "Be holy, for I am holy" Some people say that they

can sin all that they want because they are saved by grace. I personally disagree,

but even if they are right, would it not be more profitable to try and live the way that

God originally meant for us to?

Even if we were saved by grace, would we not be closer to God by living a godly

life? after all, this was truly what he wanted.

In Deuteronomy 5:29 God said "Oh that their hearts would be inclined to

fear me and keep all of my commands always, so that it might go well with

them and their children forever!" and in Deuteronomy 5:33 we are told to walk

in all of the ways that God commanded us to.

God told the people of Israel this in Deutronomy 6:5-7 "Love the Lord your

God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. All these commandments I

give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,

when you lie down and when you get up."

Remember that one of us is no better than the other because the New

Testament says "He who has committed the least of sins has committed

them all."

There was a man named Balaam in the book of Numbers who would not sell

god out for a palace full of gold and silver, so why should we sell him out to sin?

Satan is also known as the "Accuser", in revelation 12:10 the bible says that he

accuses us before God day and night. So now that we know he is constantly

telling God every time that we sin, how can we overcome sin?

Well, Satan is like a lion whom devours innocent sheep, he will not give up until

he has our soul, so we must always be prepared for the battle! we need to put on

our breastplate of righteousness, our helmet of salvation, and be on guard

twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Remember that our very souls are at stake here, and we do not want to burn in

hell with Satan. In IPeter 5:8 the New testament says "Be careful-watch out for

attacks from Satan, your great enemy. he prowls around like a hungry,

roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart"

"Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy" John 10:10. What he is trying to

steal is our soul. Satan knows that he and his demons are doomed to burn in

hells fire, he and his demons are the only ones whom cannot be redeemed, but

we still have a chance, thank God!

The bible says that God punishes people seven times over for a sin (Lev 7:18)

and that he will break down our stubborn pride, and to do that he will do whatever

is necessary, for some it takes going to jail or prison to change them and break

their foolish pride.

He will cause pain and suffering in our lives if it is necessary (Lev 26:14-46), he

will cause us to labor for low wages, send sickness upon us so that we will call

upon him for healing, or cause us famine and turn us over to our enemies, if we

do not listen to him and live godly lives.

So be not of this world, but of a godly nature (Romans 12:2), for he promises an

abundant life to those who will obey him.

In Deuteronomy 28:13 the bible says that whoever obeys God's commands will

be blessed in everything that they do, and they will never be on bottom, but will

always be on top of everything they do.

You must be honest with yourself, what kind of person are you? are you a kind

and considerate person? loving and caring? how do you wake up in the morning,

are you happy and joyful, or snappy and grouchy?

We need to keep ourselves in check constantly! we should always treat people

the way that we want to be treated! we should be kind, considerate, loving,

compassionate, wise, a good listener, helpful, cheerful, uplifting.

Do good to all people and always let your light shine so that others will want to

be like you and change their ways, after all, if you live a godly life you will have

more joy than a rich man, and people will want a joy like yours.

Have you ever noticed that Christians are always happier than everyone else,

and content with life? They are! in fact, rich people are some of the loneliest and

saddest people in the world, you can't buy happiness, or love, or friendship, not

the real thing anyways.

Be on your guard, because when an evil spirit leaves your body and comes

back to find it clean and swept, he will go out into the desert and find seven more

evil spirits even wickeder than himself and attack you from within (Luke 11:24).

Obey God and be kind to his people, for God will destroy those who hate him!

(Deut 7:10) However, if you obey him the rewards will be more than any man

could ever imagine (see the REWARDS chapter).

Do not bring sin or sinful people in your home (Deut 7:26), unless you believe

that you are strong enough to help them, but be careful, for your soul is at stake

also.

Be careful not to live a lazy and slothful life, for the bible speaks strongly about

anyone living in laziness. When you do work, whether it is for money, or some

other reason, do your best at everything. In Colossians 3:23 the bible says

"Whatever you do, do it with your whole heart, not unto man, but unto the

Lord".

Always be honest in everything that you do, for if God can't trust you here on

earth, why would he trust you in heaven? In Luke 16:10 the bible says "If

therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth (or worldly

wealth), who then will commit to your trust true riches?"

Always apologize to those who you have done wrong so that they do not accuse

you before the Lord and ask for retribution, and also confess those sins to the lord,

asking for forgiveness.

Once we have confessed our sins true guilt is gone. Any guilt that we feel after

confessing that sin and asking for forgiveness is from Satan himself, using it

against us in hopes of weakening our defenses. That is the difference between

conviction and condemnation.

When we are convicted of a wrong doing, it is the Lord convicting us, in hopes

that we will feel guilty and change our ways, but it is not his wish that we hang on

to that conviction and torture ourselves with it, leading to condemnation.

So when you are convicted, that is good, however, ask forgiveness, forsake that

sin, and get on with your life, do not hold on to that conviction and let it eat you up

inside. You must know when to let go, and let God take over.

That guilt is not from God if you have truly repented and asked for forgiveness,

because he promised to forgive all who confess and forsake their sins. However,

you must remember that you must forsake a sin to actually be forgiven, you must

completely quit doing that thing which caused you to sin in the first place.

In I John 1:9 the New Testament says "If we confess our sins, he is faithful

and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

In the bible at Ephesians 2:1-6 you will learn how we can be forgiven our sins

and blessed with a new beginning, which does not mean we can still live in sin,

but we must live this new life as Christians (Christ-like).

It says "Once you were under God's curse, doomed forever in your sins.

You went along with the crowd and were just like all of the others, full of

sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work

right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord.

All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within

us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might

lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were

under God's curse, (anger) just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we

were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives

again when he raised Christ from the dead. Only by his undeserved favor

have we ever been saved. And he lifted us up from the grave into glory

along with Christ, where we sit with him in heavenly realms, all because of

what Christ did for us.

And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich

his kindness is, as shown in all that he has done for us through his son

Jesus Christ.

Because of his kindness you have been saved through trusting Christ.

And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.

Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can

take any credit for it.

For we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which

God has prepared, even from the beginning, that we should walk in those

ways, as even Jesus Christ did himself, and was without sin.

Never forget that once you were heathen, and that you were called

Godless and unclean, by the Jews. (But their hearts, too, were still unclean,

even though they were going through the religious ceremonies and rituals

of the godly, for they circumcised themselves as a sign of godliness, yet did

not live a godly life).

Remember that in those days, (when you were a sinner),you were living

utterly apart from Christ; you were enemies of God's children and he had

promised you no help. You were lost, without God, without hope.

But now you belong to Christ Jesus, and though you were once far away

from God, now you have been brought very near to him because of what

Jesus Christ has done for you with his blood.

(In the old testament people would have to sacrifice a clean, unblemished lamb, or

other unspotted animal for a sacrifice to atone for their sins, but Jesus Christ came

as a one time sacrifice so that we could be saved by his blood, the precious blood

of the lamb).

For Christ himself is our way of peace. He has made peace between us

Jews and you gentiles (This was Apostle Paul talking to the Ephesians) by

making us all one family, breaking down the wall of contempt that use to

separate us. (A gentile is anyone other than a Jew, and Christ picked

Apostle Paul to spread the good news that we all could be saved, not only

the Jews).

By his death he ended the angry resentment between us, caused by the

Jewish laws which favored the Jews and excluded the gentiles, for he died

to annul that whole system of Jewish laws. Then he took two groups that

had been opposed to each other and made them parts of himself; thus he

fused us together to become one person, and at last there was peace.

As parts of the same body (for we are all a part of the body of Christ), our

anger against each other has disappeared, for both of us have been

reconciled to God. And so the feud ended at last at the cross.

And he brought this good news of peace to you gentiles who were very

far away from him, and to us Jews who were near.

Now all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, may come to God the Father with

the Holy Spirit's help because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but

you are members of God's very own family, citizens of God's country, and

you belong in God's household with every other Christian.

What a foundation you stand on now! with the apostles and prophets;

and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ himself!

We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a

beautiful, constantly growing temple for God.

And you also are joined with him and with each other by the Spirit, and are

part of this dwelling place of God."

We are told that we are a part of Christ now, so we must live accordingly, and

live as Jesus Christ himself lived, without sin.

Apostle Paul, whom was chosen by God, in fact god even spoke to him in an

audible voice, continues telling us how we should live.

In Ephesians 4:1-6:24 the bible says "I, Apostle Paul, a prisoner here in jail

for serving the lord, beg you to live and act in a way worthy of those who

have been chosen for such wonderful blessings such as these.

(Even though Apostle Paul was thrown in jail, whipped, beaten, and tortured, he

never once lost his faith. He continued to uplift others on the outside. Rather than

feel sorry for himself, and murmur and complain, he continually kept the faith and

praised God and sang songs to our Lord, knowing that the best was yet to come,

his reward in heaven).

Be humble and gentle. be patient with each other, making allowance for

others faults because of your love.

Try always to be led along together by the holy Spirit, and so be at peace

with one another.

We are all parts of one body, we have the same spirit, and we have all

been called ton the same glorious future.

For us there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and we all have the

same God and father who is over us all and is in us all, and living through

every part of us.

However, Christ has given us all special gifts (see the PURPOSE chapter),

he has given us all special abilities, whatever he wants us to have out of his

rich storehouse of gifts.

The psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned

triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he

gave generous gifts to men.

Some of us have been given special gifts as Apostles; to others he has

given the gift to be able to preach well; some were given the gift of being

inspired writers; some have a special ability in winning people to Christ,

helping them to trust him as their savior; still others have a gift for caring

for God's people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading them and teaching

them in the ways of God.

Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best?

It is so that God's people will be equipped to do better work for him,

building up the church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and

maturity; until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our

savior, God's son, and all become full grown in the Lord, yes- to the point of

being filled with Christ.

Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about

what we believe because someone has told us something different, or has

cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.

Instead we will lovingly follow the truth at all times , speaking truly,

dealing truly, living truly, and so become more and more in every way like

Christ who is the head of the body, the Church.(the Church is the Body of

Christ, so we do need to go to Church and partake of that body and learn from

each other as he passes out those gifts).

Under his direction the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each

part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that whole body is

healthy and growing full of love.

Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord: live no longer as the unsaved

do, for they are blinded and confused. Their hearts are full of darkness; they

are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds

against him, and they cannot understand his ways.

They do not care anymore about right and wrong and have given

themselves over to impure ways. They stop at nothing, being driven by

their evil minds and reckless lusts.

But that isn't the way that Christ taught you! If you have really heard his

voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, then throw off

your old evil nature, the old you that was a partner in your evil ways, rotten

through and through, full of lust and shame.

Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the

better. Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe

yourself with this new nature.

Stop lying to each other! tell the truth, for we are all parts of each other

(part of the body of Christ) and when we lie to each other we are hurting

ourselves.

If you are angry, do not sin by nursing your grudge. Don't let the sun go

down with you still angry, get over it quickly; for when you are angry you

give a mighty foothold to the devil.

If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his

for honest work so he can give to others in need.

Do not use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those that

you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.

Do not cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way that you live. Do not grieve

the Holy Spirit. Remember, he is the one who marks you to be present on

that day when salvation from sin will be complete.

Stop being mean, bad tempered and angry. Quarreling, harsh words, and

dislike of others should have no place in your lives.

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just

as god has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

Follow God's example in all that you do, just as a much loved child

imitates his father.

Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ who loved you

and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And god

was pleased, for Christ's love for you was like a sweet perfume to him.

Let there be no sex sin, impurity or greed among you. Let no one be able

to accuse you of such things.

Dirty stories, foul talk and course jokes-- these are not for you. Instead,

remind each other of God's goodness and be thankful.

You can be sure of this: The kingdom of Christ and of God will NEVER

belong to anyone who is impure or greedy, for a greedy person is really an

idol worshipper--he loves and worships the good things of this life more

than God.

Do not be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible

wrath of God is upon all those who do them. Do not even associate with

such people. For though once your heart was full of darkness, now it is full

of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it!

Because of this light within you, you should do only what is good and

right and true. Learn as you go along what pleases the Lord, (your lives

should be an example to others, constantly bettering yourselves, and letting go of

sin).

Take no part in the worthless pleasures of evil and darkness, but instead,

rebuke and expose them. It would be shameful to even mention here those

pleasures of darkness which the ungodly do!

But when you expose them, the light shines in upon their sin and shows it

up, and when they see how wrong they really are, some of them may even

become children of light.

That is why God says in the scriptures, "Awake, O sleeper, and rise up

from the dead; and Christ shall give you light."

So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don't be fools; be

wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good.

Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants

you to do.

Do not drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled

instead with the Holy Spirit, and controlled by him.

Talk with each other much about the Lord, quoting Psalms and Hymns

and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord.

Always give thanks for everything to our God and father in the name of

our Lord Jesus Christ. Honor Christ by submitting to each other. You

wives must submit to your husbands' leadership in the same way that you

submit to the lord.

For a husband is in charge of his wife in the same way Christ is in charge

of his body, the Church.(he gave his very life to take care of it and be its

savior!). So you wives must willingly obey your husbands in everything,

just as the church obeys Christ.

And you husbands, show the same kind of love to your wife as Christ

showed to the church when he died for her, to make her holy and clean,

washed by baptism, and God's word (having cleansed it by washing of

water with the word); so that he could give her to himself as a glorious

church without a single spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, being holy and

without a single fault.

That is how husbands should treat their wives, loving them as parts of

themselves. For since a man and his wife are now one, a man is really

doing himself a favor and loving himself when he loves his wife!

For no man ever yet hated his own body; instead he lovingly cares for it,

just as Christ cares for his body (the church).

(That the husband and wife are one body is proven by the scripture which

says, "A man must leave his father and mother when he marries, so that he

can be perfectly joined to his wife, and the two shall be one.")

I know that this is hard to understand, but it is an illustration of the way

that we are the parts of the body of Christ. So again I say, a man must love

his wife as a part of himself; and the wife must see to it that she deeply

respects her husband--obeying, praising and honoring him.

Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because god has

placed them in authority over you. Honor your father and mother. This is

the first of God's ten commandments that ends with a promise. And that

promise is this: That if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a

long life, full of blessing.

And now a word to you parents. Do not keep scolding and nagging your

children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the

loving discipline that the Lord himself approves of, with suggestions and

godly advice.

Slaves, (or in todays world this could mean employee's), obey your

masters (employers), be eager to give them your very best, as Christ would

Do not work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when

he turns away and become a sluggard; work hard and with gladness all of

the time, as though working for Christ (for some day you may), doing the

will of God with all of your hearts.

Remember that the Lord will pay you for each good thing that you do,

whether slave or free.

And you slave owners, (or employers), you must treat your slaves right,

just as I have told them to treat you. do not keep threatening them;

remember that you yourselves are slaves to Christ; you have the same

master that they do, and he has no favorites!

Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the

lord's mighty power within you. put on all of God's armor so that you will be

able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan.

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but

against persons without bodies! the evil rulers of the unseen world, those

mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this

world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he

attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.

But to do this, you will need the strongbelt of truth, and the breastplate of

God's approval.

Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the good news of

peace with God.

In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows

aimed at you by Satan.

And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God! (Your Bible and its knowledge is your sword!)

Pray all of the time. ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirits

wishes. plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying

earnestly for all Christians everywhere."

WOW!, is that heavy or what? I suggest that you study the whole book of

Ephesians, as well as all of the other books of the bible, for they were put there for

our own good. If you read something that offends you, then check your own bible

to be sure that it is true, and then if it is, accept it! Conviction is never easy to

acknowledge, because Satan would have us believe that we are always right, but

only one way is right, and that is God's way!

In Galatians 5:13-21 the bible says "For, dear brothers, you have been given

freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each

other. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "love

others as you love yourself."

But instead of showing love among yourselves you are always critical and

catty, watch out! Beware of ruining each other.

I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirits instructions. He will tell you

where to go and what to do, and then you wont always be doing the wrong

things your evil nature wants you to.

For we naturally love to do evil things that are just the opposite from the

things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do; and the good things that we want to

do when the Spirit has his way with us are just the opposite of our natural

desires. These two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to

win control over us and our wishes are never free from their pressures.

When you are guided by the Holy Spirit you need no longer force yourself

to obey Jewish laws.

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